1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a binding strip for continuous forms sheets, and more particularly to a specially prepared connector/reinforcement for computer printout sheets that are perforated to facilitate separation of printouts into individual sheets. The invention is also applicable to continuous business forms as a connector or reinforcement.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past binding strips have been devised for various functional aspects, the most closely related of which are the binding strips designed for mounting blueprints or large architectural drawings onto post binders. Significant in the discussion of this prior art is that the edges of blueprints are frequently fragile or not resistive to mounting stresses so as to tear away readily from binding posts (especially some vellums or parchment which have no particular gram direction). Other prior art devices, which are less directly related to the present invention, are the commonplace, linen-backed reinforcement and variants thereof used for notebook paper that is mounted in ring binders.
In preparing for this application a patentability search was performed which uncovered the following patents:
______________________________________ Inventor U.S. Pat. No. Date of Issue ______________________________________ Hirszon 2,601,853 July 1, 1952 Fritzinger 2,437,022 March 2, 1948 Kline 1,843,771 Feb. 2, 1932 Bingham 1,827,638 Oct. 13, 1931 Mattivi 1,439,235 Dec. 19, 1922 Bristol 1,023,715 April 16, 1912 Simons 998,086 July 25, 1911 Byrne 740,086 Sept. 29, 1903 ______________________________________
Of the patents uncovered, the Kline patent 1,843,771 shows a marginal-punched binding strip which is scored to facilitate adjustment of the length thereof and application to the length of the sheet being reinforced.
As the Kline invention precedes the computer age and the development of continuous business forms, Kline does not anticipate interconnection of business forms. The technology of continuous business forms precedes the computer developments, and, while the forms have changed to accommodate newer high-speed printout machines, the marginal-punched structure for ratchet-controlled advancement of paper of indeterminate length has not changed. Bingham in U.S. Pat. No. 1,827,638 teaches reinforcement for sheets having uniformly spaced apart apertures and further that reinforcement is only required at a few final perforations at each end of the series.
Hirszon, Fritzinger, Mattivi, Bristol, Simons, and Byrne were presented to show other aspects of the art, but were presented in the patentability search as being "of interest" only.
For the handling of computer printouts and continuous business forms, several companies, most notably Wilson Jones, a division of Swingline, Inc., of Chicago, Ill. 60648, have an entire product line devoted to retention, referral and retrieval of printouts including post binders, racks for suspending active printouts for both burst and unburst materials, and accessory easels and the like. The frequent experience of users of such equipment is to find damage to corner holes of the printouts by which these pages are mounted in the binders. The damage besides reducing the retention capability of certain runs may be of such nature as to result in additional machine printouts. The damaged pages arise from machine misalignments, bursting equipment malfunctions or careless handling of printouts.
The presently available printout paper is perforated along both the left-hand and right-hand margins for paper advancement by ratcheted mechanisms. The paper is scored at least transversely to its direction of movement for separation of each page and frequently along each margin for the removal of the marginal-punched area.
The present invention is useful to connect successive pages of printouts without losing the advantage of perforations at the top and bottom of each page, to repair rips along the perforations adjacent the marginal punched area, and to reinforce the corner mounting area.